Just in time for the new X class TVs to hit the market Comcast and Apple have worked out a deal to put Apple TV app on the X one platform. The streaming app gives users access to both the iTunes movie store and Apple’s own streaming service Apple TV+. While a lot of people associate the Apple TV App with its streaming service it is important to understand that it is less a service and more like a store. For instance, users can buy recent movies from the app. The advantage is that once they do so, they are available across their other Apple devices, provided they have others. The Apple TV app also provides access to a service called Apple Channels. Apple Channels is a large selection of unrelated streaming services that users can sign up for through Apple avoiding the need to set up a new profile and use their Apple ID and payment method instead. While customers certainly have the ability to sign up for subscriptions to most of the services sold through Apple on their own it is a matter of keeping things in one package. For people who laud Apple’s security and identity protection that may well be a factor.
The move adds another feather in the cap for Comcasts new XClass TVs, which are a way of branching outside of its normal footprint with a TV interface that combines live TV with streaming options. Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex platforms will also be getting the Apple TV App.
All of the platforms use voice technology to power a cross-platform search that returns content based on the services users pay for first. That will mean that people looking for sports content can be led to find Ted Lasso more quickly provided that they sign up for Apple TV+.
The Apple TV app will also be available through Comcast’s Eurozone platform Sky Glass TVs. company will also be integrating its own app Peacock into the Sky Glass TVs. This is sure to give the streaming service a major boost because it will be a much bigger opportunity for its customers overseas to get US content that is harder to find on other services. US customers can look forward to being able to access Xfinity Stream and the Spectrum app via their TV’s soon as well.
Has Comcast given a date when they will put the Apple TV app on the X1 platform? If I subscribe to Apple TV+, will I be able to access their programing via Comcast – specifically, will it be as easy and efficient as accessing Netflix, for example?